John was devoted to God. He and his family attended all the worship and Bible classes that his church held. It wasn’t mandatory, but John wanted his wife and little girl to know and to love God at least as much as he did.
John believed that God would protect him and his family in all things. He believed that God would never let anything bad happen to them. John believed that bad things don’t happen to good people.
Then John’s daughter, Ellen, became very ill. She was just six years old. She was the apple of John’s eye. He loved her so very much. It hurt John to see his little girl suffering.
He would often ask, “Where is God?” The preacher didn’t know how to answer. Other church members didn’t know the right words. Friends at work didn’t know how to help John.
Then Ellen’s condition worsened. She became ill beyond what the doctors knew to do to help. John stayed by Ellen’s side daay and night.
He was constantly praying that God would heal her, saying, “Please, God. You know that my little girl isn’t supposed to die. Where are you, God?”
Then, one day as he prayed, holding Ellen's little hand in his, her hand went limp.
“NO!”, John shouted. The nurses and doctors came running to the room. It ended. So sad.
What did John do? He stopped worshipping. No more Bible classes for him.
He dragged his wife down in his misery. He had trusted God. He now believed that God abandoned him. The reality of this sad, but true, story is that John had abandoned God.
Was John right to question God? Was John right to abandon God? What did John gain by his decision to abandon God?
When life seems adversely unfair -- the death of a spouse, a child, a parent, a loved one -- then where can you go for solace? Innocent people are suffering each day under the dark shadow of Covid. When will this pain end, God?
Next time we will look at the answers to these questions and consider some reasons as to why our all-powerful, loving God allows innocent people to suffer.